The Old Secret Costume Trick (A McRoll in the REAL World Story)
by ilna
Summary: Steve, Catherine, Danny, and Grace prepare for a very special Halloween.


**Notes:** Mari and Sammy – planning this trilogy on Skype was *such* fun. Thank you for that incredibly awesome night and for all your input on this story. You never cease to amaze me with your amazing ideas and fantastic lines. Major props to Mari on the costume details and to Sammy on the title. Collaborating with you two is an experience unlike any other (thank goodness for transcripts!) and one I wouldn't trade for anything in the world.

Esther – best editor ever. Thank you so much for your suggestions and for your enthusiastic support.

REAL McRollers – you absolutely rock! Every review, comment, and Tweet inspires me and is truly appreciated.

Hope you enjoy! Happy early Halloween!

* * *

><p><em>The Old Secret Costume Trick (A McRoll in the REAL World Story)<em>

Friday morning, exactly two weeks before Halloween, Steve and Catherine looked up from the smart table when the doors to headquarters opened. Danny entered the room with a distinctly distressed expression.

"What's wrong with you?" Steve asked.

"Grace wants to have a party for Halloween," Danny announced as he reached them.

Steve shrugged and said, "Okay. Sounds like a good idea. I mean, I doubt she'd want to go trick-or-treating with you so this way you'll know she's safe."

"No, no," Danny said, holding a hand up. "You don't understand. When I say she wants to have a party, I don't mean a couple of her friends coming over for a sleepover. I mean that she wants to have a boy/girl party. _With boys,_" he stressed, hand gestures accompanying his words. "My twelve-year-old daughter . . . wants to have boys over to the house. For a party. With boys."

Steve's face took on the same stricken look as Danny's and Catherine tried to appear sympathetic though she was having a hard time hiding her smile.

"You know what this means, right?" Danny continued without waiting for an answer. "I'll tell you what it means. It means my little girl . . . has a crush. On a boy."

Steve paled and his eyes widened slightly. Catherine chewed the inside of her cheek and avoided looking at either man. Danny glanced at her and did a double take. He turned to fully face her.

"You . . . did you know about this?" he asked.

Steve folded his arms as he also turned to face Catherine with an accusing stare.

She shrugged, cringing slightly. "Well . . ."

"Catherine!" Danny and Steve said in unison.

"Girl talk is classified, Danny," she said with an exasperated look. "How many times have I told you that?" She pointed at Steve. "And _you_ specifically asked for no details."

"I meant about–" Steve groaned and ran a hand over his face. "I meant when she was older. _Much_ older."

Danny sighed and used both hands to rub his forehead.

Catherine shook her head and rolled her eyes at their reactions.

"Well, what did you say?" she asked Danny.

He stopped rubbing his head to look at her. "Huh?"

"To Grace? When she asked about the party. What did you say?"

"I–" he stopped and threw his hands up. "Yes, I said yes. It's Grace. Of course I said yes." He sighed again. "So, I guess we're having a Halloween party."

"Well, have fun with that," Steve said, starting to turn back toward the smart table.

"Oh no, you two will be there," Danny said, pointing. "In costume."

"Wh–" Steve started then sighed. "Fine."

"Not your uniform."

Steve deflated slightly.

"No camouflage," Danny said. "Either of you."

Catherine glanced at Steve's irritated expression with a bemused smile.

"And you know what else? Put some thought into it," Danny continued. He motioned between them. "Maybe coordinate, huh? I don't want Cleopatra showing up with Captain America."

Steve waved a hand in Danny's direction but spoke to Catherine.

"This from the guy who showed up at the house a couple years ago in a lousy red cape and tried to pass himself off as a superhero."

"I _was_ a superhero," Danny said defensively.

Steve turned to him and said, "You looked more like a vampire."

Danny spluttered incredulously. "I . . . wh . . . what are you . . .? Are you out of your mind? Vampires have pointy teeth and black capes. Superheroes have red capes." He motioned to himself. "I had a red cape; _therefore,_ I was a superhero. Red cape equals superhero. Black cape equals vampire. Maybe with some red lining."

Steve furrowed his eyebrows. "Why do you know so much about this?"

"I think Cleopatra would have gone for Tony Stark instead," Catherine interjected. "More ambitious."

Steve and Danny stopped and turned to her with identical bewildered looks.

She shrugged. "I'm just saying."

Danny pointed at them. "Do _not _come as Cleopatra and Iron Man."

"Your loss," Catherine said. "I would've looked great in an Iron Man costume."

Steve snorted a laugh and Danny rolled his eyes.

The door opened again and they looked over to see Kono and Chin enter the room.

"Hey, guys," Kono said brightly as the cousins joined the group at the smart table. "What's going on?"

"Grace wants to have a boy/girl party for Halloween," Catherine told them.

"Oh, fun!" Kono said.

"No, no," Danny said, waving a finger. "Not fun. Not remotely fun. This is the how it starts. Okay? First, it's a boy/girl party. Next thing I know she'll want to go on an ice cream date with her crush."

"Ryan's going to be there?" Kono asked with a wide smile. "Awesome. I've been looking forward to meeting him."

Catherine cringed as both Danny and Steve straightened and looked at Kono.

"Ry–" Danny started. "Ryan? Grace's crush is named Ryan?" He turned to Catherine for confirmation.

"Uh oh," Chin chuckled. "I'm guessing you didn't know that."

"Does Ryan have a last name?" Steve asked, turning toward the smart table.

Catherine grabbed his arm before he could start to type. "Oh, stop it. You are not running a background check on a twelve-year-old."

"Why? You already did it?" he asked seriously.

She shook her head as she sighed.

"You'll meet him at the party," she said.

Danny nodded and motioned at the group. "Yes, we will _all_ meet him at the party, because you are all coming. So start picking out your costumes now. In fact," he said, pulling out his phone and swiping the screen. "I'm putting out a cavalry call. We're going to need reinforcements. We will not be outnumbered by tweens."

* * *

><p>A week later, Steve and Catherine joined Danny and Grace to carve pumpkins on Danny's back patio. They had set up two folding tables, the guys at one and the girls at the other.<p>

"Come on, Rollins, you're holding up the whole production here," Steve teased, standing with his arms folded.

"You just be patient over there," she said without looking up from her work. "It's gonna be worth it."

"It is," Grace said from beside her with an emphatic nod.

"Hey, you weren't supposed to look yet," Danny said with a grin. "We were going to reveal them one at a time."

Grace giggled. "Sorry! I couldn't help it."

Catherine gave her a smile and then looked over at Steve and Danny. "Talk amongst yourselves. I'm almost done."

"So, Gracie, what are you going to be for this Halloween party?" Steve asked.

"My vote is for Raggedy Ann, but I get quite the look every time I suggest it," Danny said.

"That's kinda babyish, Danno," Grace said.

"But you'd look so cute . . ." he protested. "With the hair and the cheeks. And the socks . . ."

"Cute isn't necessarily the point of a Halloween costume, Danny," Catherine said with a little wink to Grace before she returned her attention to her pumpkin.

He put up his hands in surrender. "Okay, okay. Not Raggedy Ann. But Halloween's only a week away, Monkey, you're gonna need to figure out . . . hey, how about–"

"I'm not going as a monkey again," Grace said with a good-natured eyeroll.

He sighed but smiled at her.

"Actually, I did have an idea," Grace said a little shyly. "But it's kind of a secret. I was going to ask Auntie Cath about it."

"Oh yeah?" Catherine said, looking up.

"Later," Grace said meaningfully.

Catherine nodded knowingly and smiled. "Okay."

Steve and Danny exchanged a smile at Grace's serious expression and Catherine's understanding response.

After another minute, Catherine put down the miniature saw she was using and straightened.

"I think that'll do it," she said.

"Are we finally ready for the big reveal?" Danny asked.

"We are."

"Okay." He rubbed his hands together. "Ladies first."

"Let's see what you've got, Gracie," Steve said.

"Okay," she said, bouncing back over to her pumpkin. "Ta-da!" she exclaimed, turning it around to reveal a cat face complete with ears and whiskers.

"Hey, that's really cool," Steve said with a broad smile and an approving nod. "I like it."

"That looks great, sweetheart," Danny agreed.

"Awesome job, Grace," Catherine said, putting an arm around her. "And it's going to look fantastic all lit up."

Grace beamed at the compliments.

"All right, Cath, your turn," Danny said. "Let's see this masterpiece you've been working on."

Catherine turned her pumpkin around. "Voila."

There was a beat of silence before Danny said, "Wow."

Steve nodded. "Yeah. Okay, you were right. That was worth it."

Catherine smiled.

Danny stepped closer to examine the pumpkin which featured a graveyard scene complete with a tree, two cats on the headstones, and flying bats.

"That is . . . impressive. Wow, Cath."

She shrugged. "I'm pretty good with a knife."

"She _is_ pretty good with a knife," Steve agreed with a smirk.

Danny shook his head, staring at the design. "There's being good with a knife, and then there's _this_. I mean, you had to draw that on there first. Free hand."

"Isn't it cool? You are sooo good, Auntie Cath," Grace said.

"Well, the bats were your idea," Catherine said.

"You know, cuz of the bat that was in your house, Uncle Steve."

"I remember," he said with a chuckle.

"Okay, okay, now you guys!" Grace said with a clap of excitement.

"You're up, Danno," Steve said.

"Well, I don't know how I can follow those two, but I _am_ pretty proud of this guy." He stepped back to his pumpkin and turned it around. "You'll note I went with the tried-and-true jack-o'-lantern face."

Steve raised his lip at the standard triangle eyes and nose and the large mouth with three flat teeth.

"That's boring," he said.

Danny held up a finger. "Uh, I think the word you mean is 'classic.' "

"No, the word I mean is 'boring.' "

Grace hid a snicker behind her hand.

"Well, let's see yours, Mr. Pumpkin Art Critic," Danny said, nodding toward Steve's pumpkin.

"Gladly," Steve said and turned his pumpkin around. "Here you go. Scary. Like a jack-o'-lantern's supposed to look."

He proudly gestured at the menacing face with jagged teeth and sinister eyebrows.

Danny made a face. "Well, that's not . . . I mean . . ." He waved a hand dismissively. "The mouth's not even symmetrical."

"Symmetri–" Steve looked incredulous. "What are you talking about? What does that have to do with anything?"

"I'm just saying–"

"You're just embarrassed because you have no imagination and yours looks like every other pumpkin . . ."

Catherine shook her head as the boys continued to argue. She nodded to Grace.

"Let's start washing these pumpkin seeds so we can toast them."

Grace nodded, grabbing the bowl from their table as Catherine stepped over to pick up the other bowl.

"Here," Steve said, taking a knife and reaching for Danny's pumpkin. "Let me just add some scary eyebrows at least–"

"You get away," Danny said and picked up his pumpkin. He turned sideways to block Steve's attempts to reach it. "You are not touching Jack."

"_Jack?" _Steve scoffed. "You named–"

"What?" Danny said defensively.

"Wow, that's _very_ original."

"_Classic,_" Danny repeated. "How many times do I have to tell you? The word is 'classic!' "

Catherine looked at Grace and rolled her eyes causing Grace to giggle. Catherine opened the sliding door, and the two stepped inside to make their way to the kitchen.

They stood side by side at the counter to prepare the seeds. After removing the larger pieces of pumpkin pulp, they filled a large bowl with water and put all the seeds in it. When the seeds floated to the top of the bowl, they were able to more effectively clean them.

"So what's this secret costume idea you wanted to ask me about?" Catherine said, her hands in the bowl alongside Grace's.

Grace took a deep breath and said, "Well, I was thinking that maybe I could be a Navy Officer." She glanced up at Catherine. "Like you."

Catherine stopped and looked at her, speechless.

"I mean, unless you don't think that would be okay," Grace said hurriedly.

"Okay?" Catherine blinked back tears. "I think that would be more than okay."

She quickly wiped her hands on her jeans and hugged Grace, not minding when the girl's wet hands went around her.

"Oh, honey, I am so honored that you would choose to . . ." her voice faded with emotion and she swallowed hard. She kissed the top of Grace's head. "You are amazing, Grace Williams. You really are."

Catherine pulled back to look at her but kept her arms around Grace's shoulders.

Grace looked up hopefully. "Would you help me with it?"

"Of course I will," Catherine said, hugging her again. "I tell you what we'll do," she said and released her. "We'll take one of my old uniforms and tailor it to fit you."

"Really?" Grace asked with wide eyes.

"Absolutely. And you know what? Your Uncle Steve is actually better with a needle than I am. Would it be okay if we let him in on the secret so he could help?"

Grace nodded excitedly.

"You're the _best,_ Auntie Cath," Grace said, wrapping her arms around Catherine's waist again.

Catherine rested her cheek on Grace's head and spoke softly. "Oh no, Grace. You are."

* * *

><p>Catherine and Steve stood by the door an hour later saying goodbye to Grace and Danny.<p>

"So we'll figure out a time this week when you can come over and we'll work on your costume, okay?" Catherine said to Grace.

"Okay." Her eyes widened, suddenly worried. "Wait. I have practice Monday and Wednesday and Aloha Girls on Tuesday. What if we can't do it until Thursday?"

"Don't worry, we'll get it done," Catherine said and put a reassuring arm around the girl's shoulders. "Promise."

Grace sighed in relief and wrapped her arms around Catherine in a hug. "Love you, Auntie Cath. See you next week."

"Love you back, hon," Catherine said quietly.

She straightened and discreetly wiped her eye. Steve gave her a quick glance before he was wrapped up in his own hug from Grace.

"Love you, Uncle Steve. Great pumpkin."

"Thanks, Gracie. Love you, too."

When Grace released him, he opened the door so he and Catherine could step outside.

"You guys sure you don't want some of those pumpkin seeds?" Danny asked as he put an arm around his daughter. "We've got four pumpkins' worth."

Steve shook his head. "They're delicious, but no. Grace can take them to school tomorrow."

"Okay, I'll see you guys in the morning."

"Bye, Danny," Catherine said.

"See ya," Steve said.

"Bye," Grace said with a wave.

Steve and Catherine turned and walked toward the truck in the driveway, hearing the door of the house close behind them.

As they neared the vehicle, Steve asked, "Is this gonna be a girl thing with the costume? Do I need to make myself scarce?"

"Uh, no, actually," Catherine said, turning toward him when they reached the passenger door. "We're gonna need your superior skill with a needle, Commander."

"Oh yeah? What does she want to do?"

Catherine swallowed and took a moment to collect herself.

Smiling, she said, "Grace wants to be a Naval Officer for Halloween."

Steve paused, taking in her words.

"Really?"

"Yeah."

He inhaled and glanced back toward the house, smiling proudly.

"Wow," he said.

"I know."

He looked back at her with a small smile. "No wonder you were wiping a tear back there."

She smiled.

"Saw that, did you?" she asked, brushing another tear away.

"Yeah," he said quietly and pulled her close to kiss her temple.

She closed her eyes briefly and took a deep breath.

He kept his arm around her and looked at the house again. "She is something, isn't she?"

"She really is."

* * *

><p>The day before Halloween, Danny brought Grace to Steve and Catherine's to work on her costume.<p>

"Look what I made for Cammie!" Grace announced excitedly before she even greeted them.

She held up a blue bandana with a Five-0 badge on it.

"I designed it on the computer and printed it on an iron transfer thing. I made one for Scout, too. They can match at the party!" she said with a beaming smile. "They'll be honorary team members!"

"Aww," Catherine said, taking the offered bandana for a closer look.

Steve peered at it over Catherine's shoulder. "Wow, Gracie." He smiled at her. "That's a great idea."

Danny rubbed Grace's shoulder, a proud smile on his face.

"What do you think, Cammie?" Catherine asked, bending to hold the bandana in front of the dog's face.

Cammie sniffed the material and gave a happy woof.

"I think she likes it," Steve observed. "Or she likes that it smells like Grace."

Grace laughed, kneeling to rub Cammie's head, and accepted several affectionate kisses in return.

"Okay," Danny said. "I'll let you three . . . er, four . . . get down to your super secret costume business. What do you think? About two hours?"

Catherine nodded as she put the bandana on the table by the door.

"Should be plenty of time," she said.

"Okay, Grace, have fun," he said, hugging her.

"Bye, Danno. See you later."

"Okay." He gave Steve and Catherine a wave before stepping back outside and closing the door behind him.

"Let's go in the den," Catherine said, putting an arm around Grace's shoulder as Steve locked the door. "I set out everything we'll need in there."

As they all walked toward the appointed room, Catherine continued, "I have a few summer whites. Is that what you were thinking?"

"Yes! That would be so amazing. Thank you again, Auntie Cath," she said, hugging her even as they entered the den. "This is going to be the best Halloween _ever_!"

Catherine laughed lightly, returning the hug.

Grace pulled back suddenly. "Oh, but I can't wear the shoulder boards. They have your rank insignia on them. I looked it up." She faced Catherine and Steve with a serious expression. "And we have to take off the ribbons. I haven't earned those."

"Yet," Steve said confidently.

Grace blushed and gave a small smile.

"I don't want to be disrespectful," she said.

Catherine pulled her into another hug. "Grace, I don't think it's possible for you to be disrespectful."

She released her and led her over to the couch where she had laid out a white shirt and skirt. Steve and Cammie followed.

"This is one of my old uniforms so the ribbons aren't on it. But it's incredible that you would have thought of that. Thank you," she said with a genuine smile.

She watched as Grace reached out to touch the material of the shirt, a look of awe on her face.

Catherine glanced at Steve, who gave her an encouraging smile.

She picked up the skirt and Grace turned to look up at her.

"Now, with your Uncle Steve's help, we should be able to shorten the skirt and adjust the shirt to fit you. So how about you stand there," she motioned to the middle of the room, "and we'll start pinning?"

"Okay," Grace said, bouncing in excitement. She moved to the designated spot, and they all laughed when Cammie immediately joined her.

"Here we go," Catherine said with a smile, holding up a package of pins.

An hour and a half later, Grace was again standing in the middle of the den, this time with the white shirt and skirt on over her tank top and shorts.

"Job very well done, Commander," Catherine said approvingly as she walked in a circle around Grace and inspected the fit. She stood back and folded her arms, looking over Grace's head at him. "I'm impressed."

Steve gave a single nod. "Glad you approve, Lieutenant. Just one of my many skills."

Grace tried to hold back a smile as she stood with her hands at her sides in an attempt to stand at attention. She bounced slightly on the balls of her feet.

Steve chuckled and shook his head. "At ease, Williams."

Grace giggled and put her hands behind her back. She looked up at him expectantly.

"We'll work on that," he said with a wink.

"Let's see what you're going to look like with the cover," Catherine suggested.

She grabbed the white cap from the end table and placed it on Grace's head. It slid down over her eyes.

Catherine laughed lightly. "We may have to pin that tomorrow."

Grace lifted it up. "And I know I'm not supposed to wear the cover indoors."

"Right," Steve said.

"And I have white shoes from Easter. They have a little heel," she said, looking at Catherine. "That's okay, right?"

"Absolutely," Catherine said. "Mine did, depending on the situation."

"And you'll come over early, right? So you can help me put my hair up, you know, like, regulation-style?" she asked hopefully.

Catherine's breath caught.

"Of course," she said quietly.

Steve smiled to see Catherine's touched expression at the request.

He took a breath and turned to Grace. "And there is one more thing you're going to need."

Grace handed the cover back to Catherine and looked at Steve.

"What?" she asked.

"This." He picked up a small box from the end table and handed it to her. She opened it to reveal a black name tag with "Williams" embossed in gold.

"Uncle Steve!" Grace gasped, staring at it.

Catherine stepped beside Steve and placed a hand on his back. They exchanged a smile and looked back at Grace.

"Here," Steve said and moved forward to take the box. He took the name tag out and handed it to Catherine. Grace straightened proudly as Catherine bent to pin it above the right pocket of her shirt.

Catherine stepped back, and she and Steve stood side by side, looking at Grace.

"Well?" Grace asked and bit her lip.

Catherine swallowed and smiled, her eyes shiny with tears.

"Perfect," Steve said quietly.

* * *

><p>A half hour later, Grace stood by the door with her costume safely hidden inside a garment bag as she and Danny said goodbye.<p>

"Thanks again, Auntie Cath. And thanks for doing the sewing, Uncle Steve."

"_You _did the sewing?" Danny asked.

"Yeah," Steve said. He shrugged. "It's like putting in stitches."

"It's not–" Danny stopped for a moment then nodded. "I guess it kind of is. All right, I'll give you that." He looked at the garment bag his daughter was holding. "Still a secret, huh? Not even going to tell me what this bulge is?"

She pulled the bag away from his poking finger and gave him an exasperated look.

"That would give it away, Danno."

"Oh, right. Of course," he said with a grin. "I'm sorry."

She grinned back at him as he put an arm around her shoulder. He looked up at Steve and Catherine.

"And what about you two? What are you going to be?"

Steve and Catherine both inhaled as they exchanged a glance. Turning back to him, they said in unison, "It's a secret."

"What's with the secrets this year?" Danny asked with a huff. "Halloween costumes shouldn't be classified. You know, just for that, I'm not going to tell you what my costume is, either."

"Didn't ask," Steve pointed out.

He smirked at Danny's irritated expression.

"But they match, right?" Grace asked them hopefully. "I mean like, they go together, don't they? You've _gotta_ have matching costumes."

Before Catherine could speak, Steve said, "Of course they match."

Catherine raised her eyebrows at him.

Meanwhile, Danny opened the front door and gave them a suspicious look.

"Okay, we will see these amazing secret matching costumes at the party tomorrow," he said, a challenge in his voice.

"Yes, you will," Steve said, clearly accepting the challenge.

"Looking forward to it."

"You should be."

"Okay."

"Okay."

There was a pause as the two men stared at each other, both fighting smiles.

Catherine rolled her eyes and stepped closer to Grace, pulling her into a hug.

"Bye, Grace," she said.

"Bye, Auntie Cath. Thanks again."

"You're very welcome." Catherine pulled back to look at her. "You're going to look amazing tomorrow."

Grace was practically glowing at her words.

"And you're coming early to do my hair?"

"Yep, we'll be there to help set up, and I will absolutely do your hair."

Grace's answering smile was bright. She turned to Steve.

"Bye, Uncle Steve." She hugged him, careful not to crush the garment bag. "Thank you for the um . . ." she glanced quickly over at her dad and then back up at Steve. "You know."

Steve smiled and returned her hug. "You're welcome, Gracie. See you tomorrow."

"Thanks, you guys," Danny said with a genuine smile for his two friends. "For . . ." he motioned to Grace's bag, "whatever that is. It put that look on my daughter's face, so no matter what it is . . ." he nodded slowly. "Worth it."

Steve put an arm around Catherine's shoulder and squeezed her shoulder.

With a final smile, Danny led Grace out the door. Catherine stepped forward to close and lock the door behind them. She immediately turned back to fully face Steve and put her hands on her hips.

"Okay, we really need to figure out our costumes," she said to him.

He exhaled heavily. "Right."

"I haven't dressed up for Halloween in . . . years," she said.

"You? I haven't worn a costume since middle school."

A sad smile briefly appeared on her face at that revelation before she lightened with, "Let me guess. Football player?"

He nodded. "Football player."

"Well, I'm not being a cheerleader so that's out."

"Huh?"

"You just promised Grace our costumes would match."

He opened both arms as he shrugged. "Well, she just looked so . . . I mean . . ." He sighed and gave another little shrug as he said, "It looked like it meant a lot to her."

"I know," Catherine said with an understanding smile.

"You were going to agree with her, I just said it first."

"I was," she admitted.

"All right," he said, rubbing his head, and took a seat on the couch. "Costumes."

"Costumes," she echoed as she sat beside him.

"I don't even know where to start. What do people dress up as?" He glanced at her. "Zombies?"

"Pass. Pirates?"

"Pirates are criminals. I'm not dressing like a criminal."

"Good point."

They sat in silence for a long moment.

"Okay, this is ridiculous," Catherine said finally.

She leaned across him to reach her laptop on the far end of the coffee table. Opening it, she placed it in front of them and tapped the touchpad to wake it up.

"What are you doing?" he asked as she typed in a search.

"We're running low on time. And ideas."

His lip curled as the website loaded. "Party City?"

She shrugged. "Let's see what they've got."

He sighed and watched as she began to navigate around the page.

"Okay, here's new stuff. Hmm . . ." she said, scrolling down.

"There is nothing on that page that I would wear, Catherine. Definitely nothing I would pay money for."

"Oh look, there's Mickey Mouse. She looked at him. "Maybe they've got Donald Duck."

"No."

"No?" she asked with a smirk.

"Whatever costumes we end up with, I _will _be wearing pants."

"You sure?"

"To the party anyway. After-party?" He grinned at her. "Well, that's a different story."

She chuckled and turned back to the laptop.

"Okay, let's see what other categories there are here," she said. " 'Customer Favorites.' "

"What is a partysuit?"

"Not sure," she said and clicked on the link.

"Wh–?" he made a face at the pictures of skintight head-to-toe bodysuits in an array of colors and patterns. "What is the point of that?"

"No idea." She shook her head, still looking at the screen. "So few people would look good in one of those."

He snorted.

"Okay, here we go," she said, clicking on another link. " 'Couples and Group Costumes.'

He raised his eyebrows as they looked at the first image on the page.

"That's a lot of cleavage for a S.W.A.T. costume," he said.

It was Catherine's turn to make a face at the screen. "Yeah, I'm noticing a distinct trend in the selection for women."

He nodded, making a similar face.

"Moving on," she said. "Maybe period costumes?"

"No togas."

Her lip twitched. "But it'd be so easy, just grab a sheet."

"I told you, I am wearing pants to this party."

"Centurion?"

"Now you're doing it on purpose."

"What can I say? You have sexy legs."

He shrugged, accepting the compliment with a grin. Catherine laughed.

"But I meant period costume from _this _century," she said. "Like from a certain decade. 70s. 80s."

She clicked on a link and brought up several options.

"Hmm," he said, squinting at the screen.

"I'll assume you're not willing to wear a wig."

"Affirmative," he said emphatically.

"Maybe the 60s," she said as she scrolled down. "Ooh, hang on." She stopped at a picture of a couple in fringe vests and headbands. She tapped the screen. "I've got boots like that."

"I'm not going as a hippie, Catherine. I said no wigs."

"No, no, no, I've got another idea."

She performed a quick search on the site. Selecting an image, she turned the screen so he could get a better look. "What do you think? I could be Agent 99. Get Smart."

Steve paused, studying the picture which featured a woman in a sleeveless black and white mini dress and knee-high white boots.

He looked at Catherine. "You'll wear something like that?" he asked, nodding toward the screen.

"Yup," she said with a smile.

He sat back. "Okay. I'm in." He shrugged. "All I gotta do is wear a suit and tie to match, right?"

"Yeah. Maybe a trench coat."

"Done."

"I'll just call the store," she said and stood, pulling her phone from her pocket. "Make sure they have that dress in stock."

She took a few steps away from the couch.

"Wait, wasn't he kind of . . ."

"What?" she asked, turning back to him.

"Inept?"

She winced, shrugging slightly. "Well . . . not exactly _inept_ . . ."

"Catherine–"

"Suit and tie, Steve," she reminded him.

"Right," he said, nodding.

"Trench coat."

"I can do that."

She coughed to cover her next words as she turned away. "And a shoe phone."

"Huh?"

She glanced back at him and shook her head. "Nothing."

"No, not nothing. Did you just say 'shoe phone' ?"

She sighed and returned to the couch. "Well, it's Maxwell Smart," she said, retaking her seat. "That's his iconic gadget." She typed in a quick search and pulled up several images from the television show. "See?"

"I'm not carrying that."

She sighed and said, "Steve, it's for Grace."

He paused. After a moment he reached over and used the touchpad to go back to the image of the mini dress and white boots. He looked at the picture and then glanced at Catherine.

He chewed on the inside of his lip for a beat. "Okay," he said finally.

She smiled. "It's gonna be a great party, Commander."

"Fifteen twelve-year-old boys and girls in one house," he said. "It's gonna be chaos."

"That's why we'll be there, 86." She winked. "To control chaos."

* * *

><p><strong>Stay tuned for the next two installments from Sammy on Friday and Mari on Saturday!<strong>

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_You can still join the mailing list by sending us an email at realmcroll at yahoo dot com with Add me, please! in the subject line._

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